Floral vase attaching device



H. o. HAssLocH, Jr 2,879,968

FLORAL VASE ATTACHING DEVICE March 31, 1959 Filed Dec. 23, 1954 INVENTOR.

Hugo (UfdssZoc/gfi:

U n d s sP t 2,879,968 FLORAL VASE ATTACHING DEVICE Hugo 0. Hassloch, Jr., Georgetown, Ky. v Application December 23,1954, Serial No. 477,262 3 Claims. (Cl. 248-318) This invention relates to a supporting device for vases for floral displays and to a unitary vase and hanger for the vase which will enable the attachment of the vase to many diiferent kinds of floral spray racks and similar supports. i

The configuration of the vase supportis such that a very secure attachment of a floral vase or similar container may be made to a number of diflerent types of bars or pins, studs or hooks whichare found in floral spray racks or which may be encountered in other situations where it is desired to hang or display floral arrangements.

Florists and funeral directors have been faced with a problem of an increasing number of funeral displays being purchased to be arranged in vases rather than in conventional funeral sprays. Displays arranged in'vases are very difficult to transport. Florists presently use sand bags, wooden racks and other devices to hold the vases upright during transportation. Funeral directors have difliculty with vase-arranged floral displays because of the great amount of space required to exhibit such arrangements. Funeral directors have a considerable investment in floral spray racks, but these racks are not designed for presently available vases, and no prior device has answered the need of an arrangement to fasten vases of flowers to conventional spray racks.

The present invention is directed toward a device which can be used to permit vase-arranged floral displays to be attached to spray racks, thus allowing funeral directors to utilize existing equipment and at the same time to permit florists and the public the latitude of selection of a vase-arranged display as well as conventional sprays.

It is an object of the invention to overcome diificulties encountered in displaying and transporting funeral and other floral displays by providing an improved vase and attachment device combination.

Another object is to provide an improved unitary vase and attachment device for the use of florists which can be used with presently available floral display racks.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved vase hanger which the florist can utilize to save time and material in the preparation of floral displays.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a floral vase attachment device which enables the florist to securely attach floral vase displays inside his trucks or cars, and at the same time increase the number of displays which may be transported without danger or difficulty.

These and other objects are achieved, in accordance with the present invention, by providing an improved floral vase attachment device which may be made unitary with the vase itself and which is adapted to engage sup ports of many ditferenttypes which may be encountered by the florist. The attachment device contains a horizontal aperture, 9. tapering vertical aperture, and a substantially circular eye at the end of the tapered vertical aperture. The supporting device itself may be made of strip sheet metal, wire or may be molded of plastic. The

supporting device or hanger is attached to thevase by the use of rivets, staples, or other known fastening means, or alternatively the entire lower portion of the supporting device may be molded into a plastic or papier-mache vase.

A feature of the invention is that the construction of the vase with its attached hanger allows the florist to arrange the floral display in a vase so that the stems of the flowers may be kept in water and thereby last much longer than in ordinary floral sprays and at the same time reduce the time and material required of the florist in preparation of the floral display.

A more detailed description follows in conjunction with the drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is in elevation of the unitary vase and hanger v of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side view of a portion of the device of Fig. 1 along the line 3-3; and

Fig. 4 is a side elevation, partly in section, of-a vase and hanger in accordance with'the invention showing an alternative method of securing the hanger to the body of the vase.

Referring now to Fig. 1, the device of the invention is shown in combination with a vase 11. Secured to a rear wall of the vase 11 are two depending strap-like members 13 which may be made of strip metal, molded plastic, or wire. The two depending portions 13 are the two extreme ends of a single piece. The strip sheet material must be substantially rigid, that is, sufliciently rigid to maintain its shape under reasonably expected weight loads. Metal straps, wire, or molded plastic materials fulfill this requirement, and at the same time possess suflicient elasticity to enable the hanger to engage bars, studs, and

other supports slightly larger than the undistorted apertures.

The attachment device portion of the hanger includes an eye 15 formed at the upper end, two side pieces 17 extending from the eye and forming a tapered slot with its narrower portion at the eye 15 and two U-shaped loops 19 defining another slot transverse to the first slot formed by the portions 17. In the normal position of use of the device, the slot defined by the two side portions 17 will be vertical and the slot defined by the two U-shaped portions 19 of the strap will be horizontal.

The hanger in Fig. 1 is shown engaging a bar 21 having its major dimension lying in a horizontal direction. The substantially circular eye 15 is adapted to engage round pins, studs, nails or hooks which may be encountered in certain instances.

Fig. 2 illustrates one method of attaching the depending portions of the strap 13 to the rear wall of the vase 11. The strap 13 and the wall of the vase 11 are each provided with a hole through which a rivet 23 is passed and peened over. It will be understood, of course, that other fastening devices can be used, for example a staple which may pass through holes in the strap 13 or through notches in the side of the strap 13. Fig. 4, which is described in detail below, shows another attachment arrangement in which the strap 13 is molded into the wall of the vase 11.

Fig. 3 is a partial elevation of the attachment device showing how the U-shaped portions 19 engage a bar 21 which is positioned with its major dimension lying in a horizontal direction. The bar 21 may be, for example, a portion of a floral spray rack 25, which racks are in wide use among florists and funeral directors.

Fig. 4 is a showing in side elevation of a unitary vase and hanger device in accordance with the invention showing how the attachment device cooperates with a support bar 21 having its major dimension in a vertical direction.

3 The tapered vertical slot formed by the side portions 17 exerts a grasping or gripping action on the bar 21' to keep the vase in an upright position so that it can be safely displayed and safely transported in cars or trucks by the florist.

Fig. 4 also shows, the alternative method of attaching the depending portion 13 of the hanger to the vase 11. The depending portion 13 may be a small crimp or cor rugation 27 in the length thereof, for example near the lower end, to increase the frictional engagement between the strap 13 and the vase 11 and thereby prevent the hanger being pulled loose from the vase.

It will be evident from an inspection of Fig. 4 that if it is desirable to make both the vase 11 and the straplike member-l3 from metal or moldable plastic materials, they may be cemented together by known techniques, or molded as a unitary article.

What is claimed is:

1. An improved attachment device for a vase or similar article comprising a unitary strap having a circular eye formed by a loop in said strap, a vertical aperture formed bytwo side-by-side straight portions of said strap extending from the eye portion and having its major dimension in the direction of extension of said side-by-side portions, an aperture transverse to said vertical aperture formed by two U-shaped portions of said strap, two depending portions extending from said U-shaped portions, and means at the ends of said depending portions adapted to cooperate with attaching means.

2. An improved attachment device for a vase comprising a unitary strap having a circular eye formed by a loop in said strap, a longitudinal aperture formed by two Straight portions of said strap extending from the eye portion, said longitudinal aperture being tapered along its length with the narrower end adjacent said eye, an aperture transverse to the first aperture formed by two U-shaped portions of said strap, two depending portions extending from said U-shaped portions, and means at the ends of said depending portions adapted to cooperate with fastening means for a vase.

3. An improved molded vase and unitary hanger therefor comprising a continuous strip of substantially rigid material forming a configuration having an aperture of three contiguous parts including an eye, a tapered longitudinal slot formed by two juxtaposed straight portions extending from the eye adapted to engage a supporting bar having its major dimension along the longitudinal axis, a transverse slot formed by two U-shaped portions adapted to engage a supporting bar having its major dimension transverse to the longitudinal axis, in the order named, two depending portions extending from said last named slot, and a crimped portion near the end of each of said depending portions, said crimped portions being embraced within a wall of said vase.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 373,780 Love Nov. 22, 1887 1,063,395 Scribner June 3, 1913 1,285,346 Orizaroif Nov. 19, 1918 1,575,232 Shearer Mar. 2, 1926 2,189,364 Kirsten Feb. 6, 1940 2,557,694 Sagen June 19, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 383,486 Germany Nov. 13, 1923 

